No More Simmons 3 Piece Wheels

[Springfield_Johny]

http://www.simmonswheel.com.au/

Simmons Wheels wish to announce that from 30th June 2009 and due to the retirement of the owner, they have ceased manufacture of their range of custom 3 piece wheels.

Repairs and servicing of Simmons wheels will continue to be available from:

RETRO WHEELS
Phone: (02) 9570 3033
Fax: (02) 9570 4055
Mob. 0409 469 331

retrowheels@optusnet.com.au

I wish to take this opportunity to sincerely thank our many customers for their support over the many years.

& its signed Tony Simmons

[1XD_351]

sorry to hear that

i have simmons on my XD and love them ,awsome wheels

very sad news indeed

[buggerlugs]

Got my wheels off Retro, great job and great service

[EL97]

That is sad news. I was hoping to buy new wheels from them in the new year.

[buggerlugs]

You can still get them, from Retro.........

[mickvxbs]

Originally Posted by buggerlugs

You can still get them, from Retro.........

thats good to know as two of my rims are cactus after a smash(gold V5's BTW )

[belvo]

are they just closing because of retirement of the owner or are they not making money any more it seems stupid to close a company because of a retirement

[ratman]

Originally Posted by belvo

are they just closing because of retirement of the owner or are they not making money any more it seems stupid to close a company because of a retirement

There were a number of options, whilst Tony was always going to retire, they had the potential to keep things running in a restructured format with existing staff, sell-off locally or sell-off overseas, unfortunately, the potential buyers didn't come thru so another 1 bites the dust.
The 15% price hike around december didn't help much either.

For those serious about purchasing, there is always the rare opportunity for the rims second hand or what I'm waiting for is the U.S. manufactured FR styled rims to become available, I know of a place finalising ordering rights so they should be here soon. They are not going to be cheap - quality costs, advantages are that they custom make to any vehicle in Australia, quality is equal to / better than Simmons from what I've seen and u now get the diameter choice from 19s up to 22s (18s are also available.) Finishes are painted, anodised, polished and custom order colours. I can see them coming in at a couple hundred more than the comparable simmons 19s due to the aussie $ conversion but the bigger sizes aren't actually that much more - I'm contemplating a big set under my XY and a future project that I'm currently chasing, 22 x 13.5s should do just nicely.

[Redrum]

Is sad, the FR range was one of the few after market wheels I actually liked.

[nb_351]

but it just wont be the same, like chinese made bonds etc... theyre still the same product, but not built the same...

[tapeworm]

There goes my plans for a set of FR18s for my EF-spewin.

[svo supporter]

Originally Posted by belvo

are they just closing because of retirement of the owner or are they not making money any more it seems stupid to close a company because of a retirement

Flip side. How long do you stay open waiting for a buyer? There aren't too many companies out there that'd be financially flush to buy a company like this real soon.

Yes sad day for them and hope Tony enjoys his retirement

[Bucknaked]

I'm surprised Ratman that your not in mourning. Must be devastating news to you, with the amount of Simmons you and the family buy. It's ok, you always have Uncle Buckies shoulder to cry on.

[ratman]

Originally Posted by Bucknaked

I'm surprised Ratman that your not in mourning. Must be devastating news to you, with the amount of Simmons you and the family buy. It's ok, you always have Uncle Buckies shoulder to cry on.

Actually Bucky, it was like losing a good mate - very hard to take. The writing has been on the wall for a while now so I was sort of prepared for it. I hope one of the aussie manufacturers sees the light and picks it up, a true niche product that still has many loyal fans and new people willing to spend their money on the best quality wheels that were on the market.

Thanks for the offer Buck but I'll pass, typical u trying to take advantage of those suffering emotionally, u must be one of those mondeo drivers.

[MAV50L]

I heard last night that the company that manufactured the actual rims not the centres for Simmons has bought the rights for the wheel.
It was from a pretty reliable source.
Apparantly Simmons only cast the centres and assembled the wheels. The centres were always out sourced.

[Fordmuscle1965]

Wonder if classic rims will go the way of classic cars and get more expensive to buy as the supply wont be on tap anymore. Might have to keep the FR18's I was thinking of sellin. :ticking:

[GTENVY]

Originally Posted by ratman

For those serious about purchasing, there is always the rare opportunity for the rims second hand or what I'm waiting for is the U.S. manufactured FR styled rims to become available, I know of a place finalising ordering rights so they should be here soon. They are not going to be cheap - quality costs, advantages are that they custom make to any vehicle in Australia, quality is equal to / better than Simmons from what I've seen and u now get the diameter choice from 19s up to 22s (18s are also available.) Finishes are painted, anodised, polished and custom order colours. I can see them coming in at a couple hundred more than the comparable simmons 19s due to the aussie $ conversion but the bigger sizes aren't actually that much more - I'm contemplating a big set under my XY and a future project that I'm currently chasing, 22 x 13.5s should do just nicely.

Any other info on this ratman?? Are they still going to make smaller sizes also e.g. 16 - 17??

[ratman]

Originally Posted by GTENVY

Any other info on this ratman?? Are they still going to make smaller sizes also e.g. 16 - 17??

Australian importer has been signed on, no 16-17s, they will also probably not get 18s into the country, being U.S. made they have a small market for those sizes, the importer tells me 19s, 20s, 22s will be the norm. I've seen U.S. pricing and def up there so u would want to be really committed, PM me sizes u are interested and I'll get some aussie costings done along with my quote.

[GTENVY]

Originally Posted by ratman

Australian importer has been signed on, no 16-17s, they will also probably not get 18s into the country, being U.S. made they have a small market for those sizes, the importer tells me 19s, 20s, 22s will be the norm. I've seen U.S. pricing and def up there so u would want to be really committed, PM me sizes u are interested and I'll get some aussie costings done along with my quote.

That sucks big time, I think anthing bigger than 17" looks out of place on an EB/ED. I guess that's the problem with such a small market :

[RED FGII]

HMMMMMMMM, i think im going to remove mine and put them in storage..

[ea90_S]

Someone better buy this Iconic Australia brand and continue making aussie made wheelS

[XYGTHO]

Even if the rights are given to a different company such as Retro wheels so the name can continue. It is a real worry. They are the only large (16-18) diameter wheel i like on older cars. I have a set of B45 15's. So from what i've read you can still get the hoops/rims? Being alloy if you hit a decent pothole your buggered.

[Peuty]

Originally Posted by ORSM-EL

HMMMMMMMM, i think im going to remove mine and put them in storage..

And do what with them? Have them gather dust for years to come?

[RED FGII]

watch them go up in price, what do you think

[Peuty]

Cool story....

[Walkinshaw]

Supprising somone like ROH doesn't apply to buy the rights to manufacture the FR style of wheels. (unless there is a simmons/ROH fude i dont know about)

[JD86]

shame to hear, FR Simmons are the only after market wheels I would consider putting on any car, I love them